Killian Silvercrest couldn’t sleep.
He had been pretty knackered from a very stressful day. He had pushed himself and the pack’s male wolves to an incredible point, one that he hadn’t been at in a long time and the pressure felt good. So good.
However, he had forgotten just how annoying the aftermath could be.
The stress, that tension that came with it… the desire to go even farther.
But there was also this unexplainable feeling in his chest that he could quite put a finger on, and he was pretty sure it was the main reason for his restlessness. Someway somehow, all he knew was that it had something to do with his mate, and at that point he wouldn’t have minded having someone to talk to about it like he had the night before, when he had conversed with Aiyisha deep into the night. He wanted to do it again, but he definitely didn’t want to give her the wrong ideas, especially when they both knew she had already tried to cross the line once.
It was better that he kept some proper distance between them so they didn’t blur any lines— so that their new found friendship could keep going strong.
And so he lay there, his mind going at a billion miles per minute.
Had he made the wrong decision in leaving Kendra to her own devices? In thinking that she was capable in handling her own like she had been trying to tell him all along?
Why did it feel like he had made a huge mistake then?
He had just wanted to give her the space she had requested, and even though it had been the hardest thing he had had to do in a long while— yes, even more difficult than giving up the pack— he was finally becoming okay with it.
Until now, that is.
Unable to take it anymore, the Alpha without a pack decided to go out on a little stroll. He needed the fresh air, and he needed to do something to clear his head.
The pain in his chest ebbed somewhat when he stepped out— when the cool chilly winds of February seeped into his lungs after a long inhale.
He felt better. Much better.
His lazy stroll took him to a small grove-like area, where a small stream flowed, so clear even under the effervescent skies, its freshness undeniable under the protection of the equally lush greens. The whole scenery was so glorious, so enchanting that he yearned the chance to show the place to Kendra— she loved to indulge in such beauty after all, hence her love for gardening—but that was never going to happen.
The handsome broad, wolf felt a sudden need to shift into his wolf form and so he took off his clothes— not wanting to ruin them, and then he did, completely allowing his beast’s conscience to take over.
He sighed in contentment as his huge, dark wolf ran around the place, sniffing the air with its snout, playfully wading in the small stream and yipping and yapping in delight. It was truly the first time in a long time that he had felt this free, and he joyously relished in the feeling.
The wolf played for what seemed like a long time, and then just when he was starting to feel bored,
He saw it.
The white wolf.
The very one that had saved him from being burnt to death during the Lupercalia festival.
At first he thought he was seeing things— thought it was some figment of his imagination, but then he realised that it really was the mysterious wolf.
Hadn’t they sacrificed it or something that day?
He hadn’t exactly stayed back to see what had happened to his savior after all, and so he had no idea.
There was also the probability that it could have equally been another white wolf, but what were the chances of that? Besides, he just knew it— call it a gut feeling— that it was the same wolf.
He felt his own wolf’s curiousness as it stared its kindred brother down, and then he felt it take a curious step forward.
One step.
Another,
Another.
And then they were finally standing face to face.
Two Alpha wolves.
One male,
The other female.
One a full blooded beast,
The other partly human.
They eyed each other in interest, neither refusing to back down— refusing to submit to the other. Both stood tall, carrying their tails high, eyeing each other, the white wolf made the first move, pressing its nose against the Alpha’s in greeting. Both wolves were calm, relaxed as they lazily took in each one’s scent, licking each other’s nose, mouth and teeth as they got acquainted.
And then Killian heard it loud and clear.
A voice.
Feminine.
In his head.
“My son,”
His heart skipped a beat, hopefulness seeping into his tone as he said, “M-mother?” He had been young when his mother died. Too young. He didn’t remember how she looked like or how she sounded like even, but hearing that voice— the way it spoke with so much grace and love,
It just had to be her.
“It is I, Selene,”
The Moon Goddess!
What were the odds of that?
Somehow, he believed she was the one even though he was one of those people who were usually skeptical. He didn’t know what to say— didn’t know what to do, and so he just stood there— or rather, his wolf did.
“I am seeing all you are going through, child.” She continued in her melodious, loving tone, “I see your suffering, and I know how bad I have made things for you with my interference. But I promise you one thing— I will not rest until I get you out of this.”
Killian could hear it in her voice… the promise, the solemnness. But all he felt in that moment was rage. Hot searing rage.
“I did not ask for this. For any of this.” he roared, his wolf charging at her as he finally gave her the response she so much sought… though he was quite positive that it definitely wasn’t what she expected.
“I’ve lost everyone in my family… I’m the only one left, what more do you want from me?” He growled as his left paw smacked her in the face. “And Kendra… I have no idea what is happening to her right now. She wants me as far away from her as possible, and it’s all your fault!” His wolf clawed and bit and scratched as they tumbled into the stream, turning its once crystal clear waters a bloody red. None of it was his though— it was all hers, almost as if she thought that he deserved this chance to lash out in the only way he knew how. And so she didn’t fight— she took it all like the goddess she was— till her once spotless fur was now a coat of crimson— till the frustrated Alpha was a panting, tired mess— was all spent. She stood there, watching him keenly, the only indication that she had been in a fight being the bloody mess that she was. She still stood on all fours— tall and proud.
Then something strange began to happen. The vicious wounds he had left on her began to close up, the left paw he had somehow managed to twist righting itself in the process. As if that wasn’t strange enough, all the blood on her fur began to disappear, seeming to be licked by some invisible force,
And then she was good as new once again.
Her mauled, ruined, spotless white coat restored once more. It was almost as if their tussle never happened. It was the fastest healing process Killian had ever witnessed in his entire life, but then again, he wasn’t exactly surprised… seeing as she was a whole Goddess of the Moon and all that.
He did not care though… the only thing that mattered to the young Alpha was that in a way, he had extracted his own pound of flesh, and now he felt very much satiated. With his wolf’s work done, the young man found himself turning back into his human form once again, naked as the day he was born since he had left his clothes back at the other side of the stream. He made no move to cover himself up though, standing tall and proud like the Alpha he was.
He was still in the process of processing that all that had just happened when a dazzling golden light engulfed the white wolf, lifting her up into the air as she let out a long howl, one that he felt deep down, all the way to his heart, pressing, almost ripping it from his chest… one that made him fall to his knees in adulation. He knew then and there how much power she had over him, over all of them. The fact that she had let him beat her to pulp had been because she owed it to him, and not because he had some kind of power over her like he had initially thought. She could have easily killed him— easily, but she hadn’t.
He saw all of that now.
When he finally managed to raise his head after what seemed like ages, gone was the white wolf. In her place stood a strikingly beautiful woman, bathed in a pale ivory gleam— the moon’s very own light, even though it was nowhere in sight.
“Killian Silvercrest, fear not… for I will not let you come to doom.” That was all she said, and then she vanished into the dark, cool night, leaving the Alpha without a pack all alone to make sense of what had just happened.